A StarNewsOnline Blog

Your guide to Wilmington's movie and TV production

Karla Crome stars as Rebecca Pine, a Chester’s Mill High science teacher who plays an active role in investigating the dome in season two of CBS’ locally filmed “Under the Dome.” — CBS photo

In this week’s “Under the Dome,” Karla Crome was tied to a chair as acid rain was poured down her back. It was only her third episode on the show.

The London-based actress’ introduction into the world of the locally filmed CBS summer series has been a swift and eventful one. Her character, Rebecca Pine, a savvy science teacher at Chester’s Mill High School, first appeared in the second season premiere, having spent the two weeks covered in season one studying the dome away from the action.

Rebecca subscribes to the idea that everything under the transparent barrier can be explained by science, not by the fantastical phenomena that many of the characters have come to believe in. Now, as Rebecca begins to put her research and steadfast theories to the test, she has quickly found herself in the crosshairs of her fellow residents and the dome itself.

“(She seeks) the rational explanation of things.” said Crome, on the show’s high school set on the EUE/Screen Gems Studios lot. “Of course, we are in a situation that can’t be explained, so she goes into things headfirst and gets herself into trouble.”

In her first three episodes, as conditions under the dome have become more dire, Rebecca has arisen as a bearer of bad news, whether the rest of Chester’s Mill wants hear it or not. But with her undeniable intellect, Rebecca has also come to be the town’s resident problem solver, proposing a towering magnet in the premiere to counteract the dome’s magnetic pulses, spotting the crop infestation in episode two and ultimately calculating that the dwindling food supply will require the town to, as she put it in this week’s episode, “selectively thin the herd.”

It’s that inquisitive nature that Crome believes would have led to big things for Rebecca, had she not returned to Chester’s Mill before the dome came down.

“Rebecca probably would have had quite a promising career in chemical engineering or something like that,” Crome said. “But she has been inadvertently drawn back to Chester’s Mill.”

Exactly what brought Rebecca back to town is something Crome vaguely calls “personal reasons,” but promises they will be explored as the season moves forward.

Even with the dome causing weekly mayhem, don’t expect Rebecca to lose her educator instincts, especially when it comes to working alongside former student Joe (Colin Ford) and his love interest, Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz).

“They kind of bounce off each other a bit when it comes to understanding what is going on,” Crome said. “Rebecca looks at this dome as an extension of her own classroom, more so as a conundrum and problem to be solved rather than something to be feared.”

Crome’s role on “Under the Dome” marks her first trip to North Carolina, which she says is “gorgeous” and different from what she expected. Before being cast on the series, the actress had only a little knowledge of the show, but said, laughing, that her “mum” was a big fan.

Now very much in tuned to show, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Crome said she has enjoyed getting to see the second season unfold, and thinks it is only raising the bar set by season one.

“In this second season, the stakes are rising because these people can’t get out of this dome and their resources and their environment are depleting,” she said. “Society is breaking down, the dome is closing in around them and it is turning into a nightmare state.”

While “Under the Dome” is only three weeks into its 13-episode second season, fans are already becoming suspicious of whether Rebecca will prove to be a friend or a foe for the show’s core cast of characters. But to Crome, Rebecca’s motives may not be so easily discernible.

“I don’t think Rebecca believes there is a good or bad,” Crome said, holding back anything spoilery about her character. “I think she believes in efficiency and sometimes that gets her into trouble. It is a questionable moral compass for her.”

“Under the Dome” airs 10 p.m. Mondays on CBS. Be sure to read our recap of this week’s episode, which was a particularly tense one for Rebecca.

The people of Chester’s Mill, the encapsulated small town on CBS’ locally filmed series “Under the Dome,” aren’t often afforded a peaceful moment to think back to the time before the dome came crashing down.

But the stars of the show are a different story. While on the show’s Chester’s Mill High School set on the EUE/Screen Gems Studios lot, several cast members were posed a question – “What piece of advice would you give your character before the dome came down?”

Their answers reflected their familiarity with their characters, their theories about the dome and even their understanding of their own acting abilities.

For Colin Ford, who plays the inquisitive Joe McAlister, his advice would be simple: “Stock up.”

“I would probably tell him to just get more supplies. Be prepared,” said Ford, who feels Joe is already a prepared kind of guy. “I don’t think the dome could have been prevented, so I think preparing would be the best thing.”

Mackenzie Lintz, who plays Joe’s investigative partner and love interest Norrie, is unsure if her angst-ridden character would have listened to any advice.

“I don’t think in that situation she would have taken advice because before the dome,” Lintz said, “she was a guarded teenage girl on her way to teenage girl boot camp.”

But following the events of the first season, which found Norrie finding her place in Chester’s Mill and overcoming the sudden death of her mother, Lintz says no advice she could have given Norrie would be as beneficial as what she has learned while inside the dome.

“I think all the advice that she needed has come from the dome and Joe and her mom,” Lintz said. “She got all of the advice she needed from them and maybe even the reality check she needed from the dome. It has transformed her into the person I think she has always been somewhere deep inside.”

Assisting Joe and Norrie this season will be Joe’s science teacher Rebecca, whose persistent pursuit of scientific answers regarding the dome will make her an interesting new presence in town. For her portrayer Karla Crome, only one piece of advice comes to mind that might help Rebecca in season two.

“I would tell her to question her unrelenting faith in science,” said Crome, who noted viewers will understand why as the season goes on.

Unlike her fellow cast members, Grace Victoria Cox may have a hard time coming up with an answer to the question. Her character Melanie, introduced in the second season premiere, seemingly appears out of nowhere under the dome, with any clue to her identity a mystery to herself and those around her.

So Cox answered from the standpoint of an actress giving advice to herself. Especially since “Dome” marks her first acting job of any kind.

“I would tell myself to be prepared that when they say mystery, they mean mystery,” Cox said, laughing. “It has been really interesting not knowing what is going to happen to her next and to figure it out with everyone else. But they mean it when they say mystery.”

Get ready to become acquainted with two new Chester’s Mill residents when “Under the Dome” returns this summer.

Eddie Cahill (“CSI: NY”) and British newcomer Karla Crome (UK’s “Misfits”) have joined the sci-fi show as series regulars in season two, which begins local production the first week of March.… Read More »

About This Blog

Hi! My name is Hunter Ingram and I’m the film/TV reporter for StarNews Media. I will be the primary blogger for WilmonFilm, but other staffers, including Community Engagement Editor Jeff Hidek and freelance reporter Brian Tucker, are likely to contribute from time to time.

With this blog, I aim to be Southeastern North Carolina’s go-to source for all things film and TV. Wilmington and its surrounding areas are rich with intriguing projects, from the big-budget blockbusters to the small-scale, high-impact independent films. I will post everything from breaking news to offbeat features that will cover every facet of the entertainment news emerging from the area. So bookmark this page and be on the lookout every day for new posts!

While we may be hard at work reporting on the stories we get, we also want your tips, reactions and ideas. Got a story idea that is itching to be heard? E-mail or call me! Want to say something about a post? Leave a comment.